Tuesday was a good night for conservatives in most parts of America. Republican Matt Bevin’s victory to become Kentucky’s governor was as resounding as it was unexpected. Even more surprising was the down-ballot defeat of Democrats’ presumptive 2016 Senate nominee for state auditor, as well as the near-defeat of the Democrats’ entire statewide slate of candidates.

Elsewhere, sensible policies generally carried the day. A well-funded gun control campaign in Virginia failed to flip even a single state Senate seat. San Francisco voters rejected an ordinance restricting AirBnB rentals and ousted a sheriff who took pride in protecting illegal immigrant criminals from deportation. Portland, Maine, rejected a $15 minimum wage. Houston voters, who backed President Obama twice, overwhelmingly rejected a measure that would have allowed transgender people who were still anatomically men the right to use women’s restrooms.